Last updated: 2022-09-23

Data entry template

Download and use the template below to enter the data. Do not edit column names or add any new ones

Download TEMPLATE here

See an example of how to enter data into this template below

• This example show data entered from 3 different plots; Block 1 GHNP, Block 1 CT, and Block 2 GHNP
  

Download EXAMPLE here

Naming conventions

Be mindful of naming conventions: See tables below

• Sites: all uppercase letters
• Treatments: naming conventions should be all uppercase, no spaces, or any other symbols
• Species: we use three-letter codes for genus and species. The first letter of the genus code should be capitalized, everything else lower case

FULL LIST OF TREATMENT & SITE NAMING CONVENTIONS

Download the site & treatment list here

FULL LIST OF SPECIES NAMING CONVENTIONS

Download species list here

Naming convention errors

Be mindful of common naming convention errors for all columns, but especially treatment and species names.

• extra spaces (EX: "Bet nan" vs "Bet nan " will be read in as a unique species name)
• periods (EX: "St. D. Bet" vs "St. D Bet" will be read in as a unique species name)
• capitalization (EX: "Bet nan" vs "Bet Nan" vs "bet nan" will all be read in as unique species names)
• spelling errors

Entering cover values:

• Should be entered as follows (ex: 25% cover should be entered as 25)
• If a species isn’t present then enter “0” DO NOT LEAVE BLANK, or enter any other symbols or values
  • exampled of things not to enter: "NA", "-", "none"
  • also do not enter “<1”. R cannot read this. Instead we standardize this so that any species cover that is <1 will be entered as 0.5 (aka half a percent)

Leave a blank row separating data from one plot to another. In the “date” column, type “drop”

• again be mindful of spaces and capitalization. (AKA do not type "Drop", "drop ", or "DROP")

QAQC:

Once data has been entered it needs to be checked for accuracy. Ideally, another person on the team who did not enter the data will then crosscheck the values on the data sheets to what was entered into the spreadsheet and correct any errors that were found. If it is not possible to have a different person QAQC the data then it is best to wait a few days before checking your own work. This ensures a fresh pair of eyes on the data and a better chance of catching errors.

Entering Notes

All notes for cover data should be recorded in a separate file using the template provided below:

Download notes template here

Entering notes in this way will allow you to be able to easily search for notes regarding data in specific plots/or quadrats

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